Siblings of children with autism, psychological adjustment and the evaluation of group intervention

grantor: University of TorontoThe present study1 examined whether siblings of children with autism were at risk for experiencing psychosocial adjustment difficulties, and whether severity of the child's disability and siblings' knowledge of autism were related to siblings' adjustment. This study also systematically evaluated the effectiveness of a sibling support group. Participants included 31 siblings of children with autism, between ages 6 to 16, that received group intervention. Results indicated that these siblings exhibited significantly more internalizing problems than average, but did not show more externalizing behaviours, total problem behaviours, or poor self-concepts. In this group, there were no significant relationships between severity of the child's disability and siblings' knowledge of autism with siblings' psychosocial adjustment. However, siblings did significantly improve their self-concepts and knowledge of autism from the beginning to the end of the sibling support group. Clinical implications are discussed and directions for future research are presented. 1These data were collected as part of the ongoing study, "Sibling Groups for Siblings of Autistic Children" of the Treatment, Research and Education for Autism and Developmental Disorders (TRE-ADD) Program at Thistletown Regional Centre, investigated by Dr. Adrienne Perry and her collaborators.M.A